Exciting Previews of New Tech at Bobcat "Demo Days 2022"

Bobcat shows leading edge concepts applying electrification, digitization, autonomy and gamification to the work site.

The Doosan Bobcat Campus at Dobris in the Czech Republic is hosting the first face-to-face Bobcat Demo Days event in nearly three years. Customers and dealers from all over Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) are visiting Demo Days to see and try out the latest Bobcat products, as well as a host of new concepts before they come to market.

Blending established products with new developments, Demo Days 2022 is being attended by hundreds of customers and dealers from across EMEA, grasping the opportunity to try out the full range of Bobcat wheeled and tracked loaders, mini-excavators, telehandlers, light compaction products and attachments in working conditions. Complementing these are a host of new product previews and leading edge technology, including S86 and T86 R-Series Loaders, MT100 Mini Track Loader, the T7X (the world’s first all-electric Compact Track Loader), the E35 Operate By Wire Mini-Excavator, the object avoidance with Radar Sensors technology and the Bobcat MaxControl Remote Operation with Joysticks.

Before their official launch later this year, Bobcat is previewing the new S86 R-Series Skid-Steer Loader and T86 R-Series Compact Track Loader. These two new loaders replace the previous 700 and 800 M-Series loaders and complete the current R-Series loader line-up. Delivering a higher engine and hydraulic output, the Bobcat S86 and T86 are the most powerful compact loaders the company has ever built. Both machines use a well-proven Stage V compliant 3.4 l Bobcat engine – producing 78 kW (105 HP) at 2600 RPM. One of the most exciting new aspects of the S86 and T86 is that both machines have for the first time three different auxiliary flow outputs. There is a standard flow configuration providing 87 l/min for applications such as load and carry, or where low hydraulic flow attachments are used. Bobcat also offers two additional hydraulic performance functions using the new Electronic Displacement Control (EDC) Pump: a High Flow function giving 138 l/min and a new, industry unique Super Flow function taking auxiliary flow to 159 l/min. The Super Flow function typically increases productivity with like-for-like attachments by 15 to 20%, and it has a new 5-coupler connection block allowing the use of larger ¾ inch quick coupler connectors and ¾ inch attachment hoses. This change also helps increase auxiliary hydraulic efficiency and performance.

Designed to replace hard manual labour with wheelbarrows, shovels and other hand tools, the new MT100 mini track loader will be launched by Bobcat later this year, but visitors to Demo Days are the first to see this exciting new product. Capable of passing through gates, doorways and other narrow spaces with ease, the MT100 still offers a big boost in power with a rated operating capacity of more than 450 kg, a powerful breakout force and an impressive lift height.

The T7X is making its first appearance in Europe at Demo Days – it is designed as a machine that addresses emission and noise reduction goals at Bobcat. The 62-kWh lithium-ion battery pack can give four hours of continuous use. That figure is made possible partially by a load-sensing power management system, which automatically reduces the power output to be no more than is required for the task at hand. Operators are also able to manually tune the performance of the T7X for specific jobs, which includes the ability to vary its drive speed while at full torque. The machine has a rated operating capacity of 1374 kg and zero CO2 emissions. At Demo Days and for all of the rest of this year, Bobcat is using the T7X to gather feedback from customers who work in different applications so the company can understand market opportunities in EMEA.

Bobcat provided a first look at the new 3.5 tonne electro-hydraulically controlled mini-excavator E35. As in most heavy excavators, the hydraulically controlled joysticks are replaced by an electro-hydraulic system. Such a system allows Bobcat to customize the machine controls to all levels of operator skill. Additional digital functionalities and special features on the machine are also available to the operator.

Construction jobsites are full of unknown obstacles including workers, machinery or utility lines. To provide a new solution for object avoidance, Bobcat made a strategic equity investment in 2021 in Ainstein, a US-based company, which manufactures state-of-the-art radar sensors. By leveraging the partnership and investment, Bobcat has devised a radar sensor concept similar to parking sensors on cars or agricultural machines. This device can go on any machine and depending on the machine (electronic or mechanical control), can stop, derate and alert the operator using light or sound warnings.

Such a solution prevents causing financial risks but also health risks for staff working on jobsites. At Demo Days, Bobcat is gathering customer feedback and trying to understand regulatory complexity with the goal to ultimately carrying out a limited launch with select customers in the coming years. 

Bobcat MaxControl Remote Operation is a new technology launched last year, providing convenient, easily accessible remote-control operation using an app on an iPhone. With Bobcat MaxControl remote operation, two-person jobs become single-worker tasks. Operators can tackle simple, everyday tasks such as opening and closing gates or loading bales in shorter time and with a smaller crew. It is compatible with Bobcat compact loaders with Selectable Joystick Controls dating as far as back as 2004.